Lake in the Hills has added regulations to address what officials called the “emerging trend” of food trucks.

Village officials said food truck-specific regulations weren’t on the books, and operators had to apply for a special event or temporary use permit every time they wanted to set up shop in Lake in the Hills.

Community Development Director John Svalenka told the Village Board the new regulations have differences for trucks selling prepackaged foods like ice cream versus trucks with kitchens that prepare food on site and sell it directly from the vehicle.

In lieu of applying for a permit each time, food truck vendors will pay a $100 annual fee, plus $50 for each vehicle. Trucks that are cooking food will pay the that fee plus another $50 per vehicle to account for an annual village inspection, Svalenka said.

Village building department staff will inspect the cooking trucks to ensure they have an exhaust hood if they have a lot of grease or a deep fryer.

They also need to have a fire suppression system for the deep fryers, a regular fire extinguisher and a Class K fire extinguisher in trucks that cook with oil. The cooking trucks need to have a carbon monoxide detector and comply with propane and electrical requirements, Svalenka said.

Food truck operators still have to undergo background checks, but other changes include providing a copy of the health department permit, certificate of insurance and Illinois business tax numbers to make sure Lake in the Hills collects sales tax, Svalenka said.

The village has a maximum of six licenses for the prepackaged trucks, with two trucks per license. Three licenses are just for ice cream trucks, Svlalenka said, adding the new rules didn’t change that.

For cooking trucks, no limit was set on the number of licenses, but the Village Board can set such a limit at a later date if trustees choose to do so.

Some board members asked about food trucks at special events and had concerns about charging the fee to vendors who are coming in just for the event. Svalenka said the board could waive fees for part of the special event permit.

In response to a question about food trucks appearing at local carnivals, Village President Ray Bogdanowski said that could be addressed in the contracts with the carnival organizers.

Bogdanowski added later the ordinance wasn’t meant to affect Ribfest or Sunset Fest but was geared towards scenarios such as an organization wanting to host a football game and have a food truck on hand.

“Right now, we have to tell them no,” Bogdanowski said.

The Village Board unanimously approved the changes Sept. 25.